UNC Chapel Hill suspends three fraternities linked to smuggling ring, $1.5 million in cocaine, lsd

#UNC #POC #ChapelHill #Duke #Boone #Durham #Jail #DEA #DrugRing #Cartel

Three fraternities have been suspended from UNC Chapel Hill after they were named in connection with a massive drug ring which trafficked 'thousands of dollars' of marijuana, cocaine and other drugs with payments made via Venmo.

Phi Gamma Delta, Kappa Sigma and Beta Theta Pi were suspended on Friday 'due to the alleged activity cited in the ongoing investigation by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) task force and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office,' said Kevin M. Guskiewicz, chancellor of UNC Chapel Hill.

'We are taking swift action today because the serious nature of the alleged criminal behaviors is contradictory to our code of conduct and endangers the health of our student body and community,' he said.

'We remain vigilant and are continuing to work with law enforcement to understand the extent of this activity on our campus and will take all appropriate measures to address it.'

The move came a day after students from his university and Duke were named among 21 people arrested for allegedly running the 'brazen' drug ring.

Duke University is yet to respond to DailyMail.com's question whether they had, like UNC Chapel Hill, taken any action in response to the arrests.

Prosecutors said the alleged drug dealing took place between 2017 and 2020 with more than $1.5million of product being shipped from California through USPS and then distributed in North Carolina, where Duke and UNC's campuses are located about 10 miles apart.

The suspects range in age from 21 and 35. A full list of the fraternities allegedly involved have not yet been released but they include UNC chapters of Phi Gamma Delta, Kappa Sigma and Beta Theta Pi - the three which were suspended on Thursday.

'This is not a situation where you have single users, where you have a 19-year-old sipping a beer, where you have someone taking a puff of a joint on the back porch of a frat house,' prosecutors said at a press conference on Thursday.

'These are hardened drug dealers.'

Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood, whose office worked with the DEA on the investigation, said it 'unfolded unlike any other case I have seen'.

He said the suspects all had 'brazen' attitudes and that the use of drugs in some of the fraternities was 'pervasive'.

The DEA probe was launched in 2018 after people in a different investigation informed the police about drug dealing at UNC, police said.

Some of the first arrests were made in July this year and authorities said they have been working since then to piece together the operation they called 'astonishing'.

Authorities identified two UNC students, one Duke student and two Appalachian State students among the defendants, but declined to say exactly how many of those charged are currently or formerly enrolled at any of those three schools.

In July this year, five people were charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana.

They are Andrew Gaddy, 24; Travis Michael Evans, 27; Dane Lamber Simon, 23; Brianha Nicole Haskell, 24; and Mariela Zavala Mendoza (aka Maria Ochoa), 25.

Other indictments in July, October and December brought charges of conspiracy to distribute cocaine against another eight suspects.

They are Zachre Abercrombie, 27; Amber Johnson, 24; John Holloway, 23; Devin McDonald, 23; Jason Nitsos, 24; Devon Pickering, 35; Edison Robles, 26; and Jason Xu, 23.

An additional eight people were charged with a variety of drug offenses in October and December.